1461 Dinners - Nights 9 and 10

 1449 Dinners to Go

I've been growing herbs and vegetables since this summer. Some pineapples, basil, lettuces, tomatoes, hot peppers, celery, parsley, sunflowers... I get bored too easily to grow many flowers, but I've been keeping a variegated mum alive since September. I've been adding fresh basil to everything and I recently successfully rooted a rosemary sprig a friend gave me. I dried a bunch of the rosemary she gave me just too, just to have on hand. I stored the dried rosemary in empty Bonne Maman jars I washed out. 

Dinner 10 - Our youngest was feeling sad and wanted to go out for pasta. A nostalgic brand of my youth (Fazolis) has re-opened so I got baked meatballs and salad, and they still serve unlimited free breadsticks in the dining room if you eat there. People think Breadstix in Glee was based on Olive Garden, but to me, it was clearly an homage to Fazoli's.

January 31st (Dinner 11) - a friend of mine is having a hard time, so I brought her some cold medicine and hung out doing a jigsaw puzzle with her. Then I convinced her to go to Wendy's with me for a chocolate Frosty (for her) and dinner for me. I had a chicken sandwich, some fries, and a coke.  

It's a volleyball weekend, but hopefully, I can figure out a way to eat at least one dinner at home. I actually hate going out so much, but lately, I am prioritizing tiny boosts to our mental health over cost savings analysis. Let's see how that goes.

1450 dinners to go.

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1461 Dinners - Nights 8 and 9

 Sometimes, you just want options

Night 8- I made tortellini with sausage and pepper tomato sauce the other night for the kids, and there was plenty leftover for another night, but I found myself just wanting another choice. The same night I made the tortellini and sauce I had also made a chicken and vegetable broth by cleaning out the refrigerator.

Do you do this? You discover some forgotten vegetables, rolling around in the furthest reaches of the refrigerator so you throw them in a pot with water, salt, pepper, and bay leaves and make up a quick broth? I hate wasting food so I either make broth or roasted vegetables when I discover wilting veg. I also had about half a box of chicken broth leftover from making sausages so I threw that in as well. 

 I defrosted some chicken but left it for my husband to deal with while I ran kid 2 to play rehearsal, it's far enough away that I pretty much have to sit there and wait for her rather than go home. I called Husband who was just arriving home and pitched him on a sort of arroz con pollo deal, inspired by a video Dollar Tree Dinners had just posted. 

@dollartreedinners One Pan Chicken & rice is a lifesaver for busy weeknights! Flavorful, simple, and only 6 ingredients.  This recipe is a family favorite. You will need: 4 bone in skin on chicken thighs 1 diced onion 1 & 1/2 cups of white rice 2 cups chicken stock 1 to 2 teaspoons @danosseasoning Original seasoning (plus extra for the chicken) 2 cups of frozen vegetables (Green beans, peas, or mixed vegetables) Season both sides of the chicken generously with Dan-O's Original seasoning Sear in a dry skillet over medium high heat for 4 minutes per side them remove Add diced onions to the skillet scraping up any browned bits , stir in rice and toast for 2 to 3 minutes until lightly browned. Add chicken stock, season to taste, and frozen vegetables, stir to combine. Nestle chicken back into the pan, bring to a boil, cover simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until liquid is fully absorbed (there should be no bubbles on the surface) Remove from heat and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes and enjoy! #simplemeals #danospartner #easyweeknightdinner #onepanmeals #familydinner #comfortfood #homecooking #quickdinner ♬ original sound - Dollar Tree Dinners

He seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme, then browned the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs in a heavy-bottomed skillet. When they were brown on both sides he removed them and sauteed chopped onions in the rendered fat until they softened. Then he added two sliced zucchinis to the pan, popped in a cup of long-grain white rice, added 2 cups of vegetable stock, and nestled the chicken down in the rice and vegetables. He covered the pan and let it cook for about 20 minutes. The rice was cooked through; the vegetables were soft and the chicken was moist and tender. One pan meals for the win!

Night 9 - I mailed postcards to my representatives this morning. Worked on projects for my boss all day and finally disassembled the Christmas tree. Dinner was a "choose your own adventure" of leftovers tonight, as the elder child is out of town on assignment and the younger child had back-to-back play rehearsal and volleyball practice. She ate a slice of pizza and some chicken and noodles a friend brought her in the car. 

It's amazing the kindness and thoughtfulness of children, especially compared to adults most days. Her friend knew she was coming directly from play rehearsals to practice and offered to bring her a favorite meal from the restaurant where the friend works. I love teens, by and large, they are lovely humans. 

Husband and I both attended volleyball practice and brought our laptops to finish some work, fortunately, the gym has built in work tops with chairs and power outlets for the parents. It was great to get to watch her play and catch up on some stuff so tomorrow will go smoother.

1,452 nights left.

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1461 Dinners - Night 7

 We have reached the part of the school year where all the things my kid signed up for at the beginning of the year that seemed so doable are all happening, simultaneously. 

Sigh.

Because I had a doctor's appointment, Kid 1 drove Kid 2 to practice while I made dinner. I am still not back in my real groove with cooking so I kept it simple and made a sausage sauce and tortellini for the kids and I made myself sausages and peppers with zucchini. 

The best part of making sausage and peppers and (onions) is that it's absurdly simple. I slice the bell peppers and onions very thin. I put them in a hot pan with oil and start them BEFORE the sausages because I like the onions to get caramelized. Plop the sausages in and cook till they are done and brown on all sides. I like bangers for sausages or sweet Italian sausages if I can't get those. Any type of sausage you like though, beef, chicken, or even vegetarian sausages will work. Sometimes I only use peppers and onions, sometimes (like last night) I throw in some sliced zucchini as well at the end. then I deglazed the pan with some marsala wine and chicken broth. You can even use just water or water with a splash of apple cider vinegar in it. 

This can be served over greens, rice or noodles if you wish, I skipped that part entirely and topped it with a sprinkle of feta cheese. It's my favorite. 

Everyone ate, not at the same time, because rehearsals and meetings and such, but hey. Still counts as far as I am concerned. 

I literally cannot take a good food photo to save my life, trust me this was delicious. 

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1461 Dinners - Nights 4, 5, 6

How to cook salmon and realistic dinners for busy weekends.

Friday Night - we had an office party to attend, and dinner was provided at a nice restaurant for my husband and myself. We both had cedar plank grilled salmon. It was fantastic. The trick with salmon is not to overcook it, and you do that by cooking it hot and fast and pulling it from the oven before it has reached the doneness you are looking for. Try pulling it at medium and letting hold over heat finish cooking it the rest of the way. 

Why do people cook salmon on a cedar plank? If you've never seen it before it may seem strange, like serving steak on a fence slat, but the cedar plank adds aroma and slight smokiness. It is also a way of ensuring even heat while cooking. The untreated wood plank is soaked in water for anywhere from 1 to 24 hours depending on the recipe you see and then it's preheated on the grill. The fish lightly grills and steams in the residual water steaming from the plank and as the edges of the board char, the fish also gets an aromatic smokiness. This is a variation of the salmon cooking method of the Coastal Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. A cedar bentwood box filled with hot cooking stones was used to prepare salmon at ceremonial fishing parties that commemorated the early spring salmon runs. Loimulohi is a traditional Finnish salmon cooking method and uses a cedar plank as well! 

My own method for cooking salmon at home is to start with a thawed piece of salmon, preferably with the skin on. I preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) then prepare a baking sheet by covering it with aluminum foil or parchment paper (depending on what I have on hand). I oil the pan then lay the fish (skin side down) on the oiled surface. I salt and pepper the salmon and then squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top of the fish. Finally, I spray the fish with a high-heat cooking oil like avocado oil and cook it in the hot oven for about 10 - 15 minutes depending on the fish. If the surface appears to be cooked but the middle seems underdone, that's it for me. I pull it out, and the residual heat cooks the fish through and keeps it moist. Obviously, cook longer if you prefer greater doneness, or if you have a particularly thick piece of fish. Internal temperature should be between 135º to 145º F (57º to 62ºC). 

Saturday Night - Honestly, yogurt, granola, and sliced strawberries. We had been at a Volleyball tournament all day and I was exhausted. Everyone fended for themselves that night.

Sunday Night - Chili's after day 2 of the Volleyball Tournament for Lunch/Dinner. You ever have just one big meal in the late afternoon/early evening and just call it? If you haven't been to Chili's in awhile they still give you free bottomless chips and salsa to start the meal and the burgers and fajitas are still great. But maybe inspired by the absolutely fabulous fish I had on Friday I went ahead and ordered the ancho chili salmon. It was surprisingly moist and flavorful. It was served with steamed broccoli and rice. I am just craving salmon lately, so I gambled and I was delighted. 

Cedar Plank salmon with broccolini and roasted multicolor carrots. Half devoured by the photographer.

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1461 Dinners- Nights 2 and 3

 Decided to use some frozen chicken and pasta meals I had in the freezer rounded out with an extra artichoke stuffed chicken breast from the other night and some broccoli and cauliflower I roasted because it needed to be used up. 

Do you ever stare into the refrigerator and think... "I know I bought food but I'll be damned if I can think what I was going to do with it."

When I see ingredients but I can't remember the plan I just prepare them. On this day with only the mandate, "these must be used immediately", I chopped up the head of cauliflower and the head of broccoli and put them on a sheet pan. I covered them in oil and then sprinkled them heavily with a seasoning blend that had salt, pepper, onions and garlic in it. Then I roasted the vegetables for 20 minutes at 375ºF. They looked not as brown as I wanted so I gave it all a good stir and threw them back in for another 5 minutes.

Later that night as I was driving kid 2 from sports practice to theater rehearsal I called my husband and said, HEY, there's a plan for dinner after all. Take the frozen chicken and pasta meals out of the freezer, cut up, add the leftover artichoke chicken, and toss in the roasted veg I did earlier.  

It made such a huge amount we had it for dinner again last night.

Tonight's dinner will be refrigerated tortellini and sauce with salad and a take-and-bake bread loaf served with olive oil and balsamic glaze. 

That will be 4 nights, down. 

The aforementioned roasted veg. 

Do you have any vegetables languishing in the fridge? Go ahead and roast them.  They can work as a side dish or depending on what you have can be pureed into a soup or sauce. Tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion work particularly well as a sauce or a soup. 

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1,461 dinners - Night One

Dinner Tonight: 

Heat and Eat Chicken stuffed with artichoke from Aldi.

Heat and Eat Mashed Potatoes. 

I sautéed an entire bag of spinach with half an onion. Salt and Pepper.

When life gets tough take whatever shortcuts you need to to keep body and soul together. Life is hard and days are long, you need food and rest.

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